On Monday, Jan. 28, our group of 50 Idle No More supporters travelled by bus from Windsor to Ottawa to participate in the #J28 World Day of Action.

We arrived on Victoria Island at about 9 a.m., two hours before the rally started. We had been outside most of the day with exception of stopping to warm up a couple of times during the day in coffee shops and restaurants.

The bus driver had agreed to pick us up at 5 p.m. on Wellington Street in front of Parliament. Most people had come before time, some as early as 3:30 p.m. to ensure all the riders were present when the bus arrived, with some people anticipating boarding the bus ahead of time.

As organizer of the trip but being unfamiliar with Ottawa, I did not realize that this location would be so busy with city buses, so I requested that our group stay together to board the bus quickly when it arrived, so we would not keep the bus waiting for people.

Due to a miscommunication, the bus did not come at the agreed time. Thus, our group was stranded in the frigid cold for an additional one and a half hours beyond the time we had already waited.

I would like to acknowledge the efforts of the Ottawa RCMP in aiding our group through this predicament. Cpl. Tim Tong and Const. Barclay Macleod took notice of our group, especially the young children and babies, and went above and beyond the call of duty in assisting.

They took all our children as well as a youth and a mother with a baby, about nine in total, into their vehicle to keep warm.

They then arranged for our group to keep warm within a nearby office at 33 Metcalfe Street until our bus arrived.

As well, they recognized how exposure to the elements was already causing mild cognitive impairment in some of us, including myself, and assisted with contacting the bus company’s emergency numbers.

Our entire group, therefore, wishes to recognize the exemplary actions of these two members of the RCMP. Their astute situation appraisal and immediate resolution managed circumstances which could become life-threatening, or at the very least, a condition wherein someone could have suffered harm.

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